Minuteman National Blog

Well it certainly was an exciting week. We survived “A Day Without a Mexican”, witnessed some politicians swallow reluctantly and admit there is an Illegal Immigration problem, and perhaps most importantly moved a step closer to unifying the American people to take action.

The release this week of the Zogby poll on the feelings of your fellow Americans revealed something we here have known for some time. Apparently about 71 percent of this country feel our border enforcement efforts are "grossly inadequate". Let''s shoot for 90% next poll.

Residents of Santa Clara Ca.are our featured Illegal Alien protesters. Not to slight the many others who turned out this week in counter demonstrations against the May 1st Illegal alien love-in. Santa Clara is surrounded by such a sea of Bay Area liberalism, we just feel they needed a mention. To be fair and balanced we note a quick rebuttal courtesy of the San Jose Mercury News:

“Quetzaoceloaciua, 62, who goes by one name, called the protesters "racist" and pointed out that California used to belong to Mexico. "We are not illegal aliens in our homeland," she said.”

Ok Quet…we get it. Evil Europeans bad……Mexico good.

POLITICIAN OF THE WEEK

San Diego Supervisor Bill Horn. Mr. Horn actually stood up and requested that his colleagues on the Board of Supervisors authorize the county''s chief administrative officer to initiate a look see into just how much his county is spending on Illegal aliens….what a concept.

“"The public has the right to know how much illegal immigration costs their county government, and we need the data to take appropriate action,"

Supervisor Horn is interested to know how much the county is spending. What perked up their ears a tad was they discovered that they are currently spending more than fifty odd million just on criminal justice services where Illegal aliens are concerned. Cutting just a bit into little local pork projects one might imagine. I expect a giant puckering sound audible to the east coast when the full numbers come in.

PICTURE OF THE WEEK - via Washington Post

President Bush celebrated Cinco de Mayo (or as I refer to it Friday) in the East Room of the White House this week. His office further related that he does not and is not singing the National Anthem in Spanish, called "Nuestro Himno,"

President Bush related at the festive gathering held Thursday, May 4th, "It''s on the Cuatro de Mayo. It''s such an important holiday we thought we would start early."

Just couldn’t wait could ya George.

(Follow Up: May 7th - The White House Communications Office has yet to respond to our inquiry concerning the upcoming 4th of July American Celebration and if it will be considered important enough to "start early".)

The ever tangled threads of the business of illegal immigration, or should I say the industry of illegal immigration, continue to come to light. Between the coyotes, the various governments, safe house operators, transporters, lobby groups and many many more…..it is a wonder they don’t open a lobby office on K street.

If these businesses got onto the stock exchange, it would be a pretty good index fund to buy into.

Via Star-Tellegram

WASHINGTON - Forgers are making tens of millions, and possibly billions, of dollars selling counterfeit Social Security cards, driver''s licenses, immigrant registration cards and other papers to an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants.

The dominant forgery-and-distribution network in the United States is allegedly controlled by the Castorena family, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials say. Its members emigrated from Mexico in the late 1980s and have used their printing skills and business acumen to capture a big piece of the booming industry.

Only trained experts can spot the fakes, and the Castorena Family Organization - or CFO, as officials call it - has spread to at least 50 cities in 33 states.

The threat of terrorism has made document forgers even more menacing since 9-11. Two 9-11 hijackers used fraudulent notarized forms to obtain valid Virginia ID cards, which enabled them to board the two airliners that crashed into the World Trade Center.

Julie Myers, ICE assistant secretary, calls document forgery an "epidemic." Her agency, a branch of the Homeland Security Department, is waging a nationwide crackdown on forgery rings and in early April, announced the formation of multiagency task forces in 10 cities: Atlanta; Boston; Dallas; Denver; Detroit; Los Angeles; New York; Newark, N.J.; Philadelphia; and St. Paul, Minn. Other participating agencies include the Justice Department, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the Labor Department, the Social Security Administration, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the State Department and the Secret Service.

snip

Click on article link for full story

Here is a portion of a well written letter to the editor to a small town paper in Appleton Wisconsin. What is remarkable is that this area of the country is considered quite liberal, yet it was published on it’s own page by the newspaper.

The Illegal immigration problem is crossing political parties as our fellow citizens realize the national security implications of this issue.

Via Appleton Wi. Post-Crescent

Excuse me, can we use the proper words to identify this problem? "Illegal alien" is the phrase. An immigrant, my ancestors, came through the "Ellis Island" route. Quarantined for diseases and, if declared undesirable, sent back.

An illegal alien sneaks into the country, may not learn the language, may carry disease (mumps), may not insure their vehicles, may be very undesirable and probably will not pay any taxes as they "demand their rights."

To call an illegal alien an immigrant is to call the man who sneaks in your back door, raids your refrigerator, steals your credit cards and rapes your wife a guest. ……

…….Fast-forward about 20 years. Remember all of those little trinket things that used to say "made in China"? They now say "made in the USA" — only it''s written in Spanish.

SNIP

For full article click on title link

The drumbeat continues as more and more businesses find that using illegal labor has consequences. From border to border it is not business as usual.

Via A.P. and WBAY Green Bay:

Indiana businessman accused of transporting illegal aliens

FARGO, N.D. The owner of an Indiana company that does stucco work in Wisconsin and other Midwestern states is charged with transporting and hiring illegal immigrants.

Robert Porcisanu (por-SIS''-an-oo) is named in a 12-count indictment in North Dakota. He''s accused of arranging to transport his illegal employees to construction sites in Wisconsin and other states and paying for their hotel rooms.

Porcisanu is in federal custody and is to be arraigned today in Fargo, North Dakota. The indictment also alleges he didn''t pay his illegal workers overtime and didn''t withhold taxes.

Snip

Take Article link above for full story

The Border Patrol bureaucrats (not to be confused with the rank and file agents on the front lines) have been trying to tell the American people through the media that the rise in border crossings in March and April were "normal" surges for this time of year.

The Minutemen have said over and over and over: the false promise of amnesty has caused a human tsunami over the border. So far this fiscal year (since October 1st, 2005) 724,613 illegal aliens have been apprehended coming across the southern border. When you take into account that even the BP bureaucrats admit they only catch one in four (the front lines guys will tell you it''s more like one in ten), millions of people have flooded across the border due to the irresponsible "amnesty" rhetoric of our President and our United States Senate.

From Reuters News (it takes a British news company to report this?):

Number of illegal migrants on the rise

REYNOSA, Mexico (Reuters) - The number of people caught crossing the U.S. border from Mexico illegally is on the rise, and many may be heading north in the hope that Congress will effectively grant an amnesty to undocumented workers in immigration reforms, U.S. authorities and immigrants say.

The U.S. Border Patrol said on Wednesday it had arrested 724,613 undocumented migrants crossing the 2,000-mile (3,200-km) border from Mexico since October 1 last year, a rise of 6 percent from the same period a year earlier.

The increase comes as U.S. lawmakers debate a proposal by President George W. Bush offering millions of illegal immigrants a path to citizenship, and as Hispanic activists staged protests and a work stoppage in cities nationwide.

The plan, which includes a temporary worker program, faces serious opposition in the Senate from Bush''s own Republicans, and a bill passed by the House in December proposes a crackdown on illegal immigration.

But new migrants making their way up from Central America and Mexico are clinging to the long-shot hope that they can be included in any plan to legalize aliens passed by Congress if they can just get to the United States quickly enough.

Would-be immigrants gathering south of the Rio Grande river from Texas say that dream motivated them to trek north and try to cross the border, after they saw huge recent pro-immigration marches in U.S. cities on television.

"We saw the protests on TV and heard about an amnesty, and that''s why we''re here," said Honduran mechanic Jose Alberto Rosales, as he rested at a Catholic church shelter in the Mexican border city of Reynosa.

"Back home, you work just to get food, and I want to be able to build a house for my wife and children," added the 31-year-old, who had walked and ridden train box cars in a journey from his home in the city of San Pedro Sula.

Rosales and other migrants said they had swum across the green waters of the Rio Grande several times in recent days, only to be caught and sent back by U.S. Border Patrol agents guarding the northern banks.

"I''m going to keep on trying until I succeed in reaching my destination," said Felipe Martinez, 39, a truck driver from Saltillo, in northern Mexico, who said he was heading to join relatives working in Florida.

~SNIP~

To read the entire article, click on the title link!

Congrats to the elected representatives of the people of Alabama for not only recognizing the problem of employers hiring illegal labor, but actually doing something about it. It seems more and more states and local governments are getting a little tired of waiting on the federal government.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. Via A.P and Ledger Enquirer.com- Beginning in July, the Legislature''s Contract Review Committee will require contractors to sign statements saying they are not employing illegal aliens on any of the projects they are doing for the state.

The committee announced the policy change at its monthly meeting Thursday. "This issue is getting stronger and stronger in this country and people want us to do something about it," said Rep. Neal Morrison, D-Cullman.

Morrison, the committee''s vice chairman, told officials from state agencies that committee members will be checking to make sure the statements are accurate. "I''m liable to show up in the middle of nowhere and ask if those folks are here legally,". If a contractor is caught lying, the committee will try to keep the company from getting any more state contracts, Morrison said.

Illegal aliens have become a major issue in the 2006 election season.

Snip

Take article link above for full story

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is doing his job again in Arizona. Now, I know that my not sound very controversial to most, but believe it or not, it is upsetting the pro-illegal crowd. Sheriff Joe is famous for his policies of requiring inmates to wear pink underwear, feeding them bologna sandwiches and housing them in tents in the middle of the desert. He says that if Army tents were good enough for our military, they should be more than adequate for our prisoners.

You GO, Sheriff Joe!

From the Associated Press today:

Phoenix posse to round up illegal immigrants
‘Don’t come roaming around here,’ controversial sheriff warns

PHOENIX - A posse of 100 volunteers and sheriff’s deputies will patrol the Phoenix area and arrest any illegal immigrants, the county sheriff said.

The group likely will be deployed across parts of Maricopa County by the weekend, Sheriff Joe Arpaio said Wednesday.

Volunteers will be drawn from the department’s 3,000-member posse, whose members are trained and are often former deputies.

“It’s important to send the message out to stay in Mexico and don’t come roaming around here hoping you’re going to get amnesty,” said Arpaio, who in years past gained notoriety for putting inmates on chain gangs and issuing them striped uniforms and pink underwear.

Arpaio’s deputies have already arrested about 120 illegal immigrants using a new state smuggling law.

“We’re going to arrest any illegal who violates this new law,” he said. “I’m not going to turn these people over to federal authorities so they can have a free ride back to Mexico. I’ll give them a free ride into the county jail.”

~SNIP~

To read the entire article, click on the title link!

Some quite interesting photos in from a Minuteman Civil Defense Corps volunteer from the May Day rally in San Antonio, Texas. Note the little girl under what would appear to be her mother''s care SITTING on the American flag while waving the Mexican flag.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

REFERENDUM VOTE ON ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION PROVIDES A MANDATE!

Herndon, Virginia (May 3, 2006) – Opponents of illegal immigration Tuesday won a clean sweep in elections focused on the illegal immigration issue. After months of contentious debate over the approval by the Herndon Town Council to open an illegal day laborer center, the Herndon voters were finally heard, and their response was to unseat the Mayor and two Town Council members who voted for the illegal day laborer work center. Every candidate challenging the government-funded day laborer site was elected, replacing the incumbents.

Members of two grassroots organizations formed to contest the approval of the illegal work center: the Virginia Minuteman Civil Defense Corps and Help Save Herndon. These groups worked together for eight months to overturn the Town Council’s decision, and the Herndon voters have provided a mandate to close the day laborer site.

George Taplin, the state leader of the Virginia Minuteman Civil Defense Corps issued the following statement:

“This is a victory for every law-abiding citizen in our country, and sends a clear message to every politician who has waffled on this issue – enforce the law or find a new job. The Herndon vote is a reflection of the electorate across the country, and they have said, ‘Enough is enough!’ It is time to secure our borders, enforce our laws, and hold our elected officials accountable for their actions. To all of you who depend upon the electorate for your jobs, ignore this at your peril.’

Chris Simcox, Founder and President of the national Minuteman Civil Defense Corps issued the following statement:

“Politicians across the country should take note of the results of this election. The central issue of this referendum vote was illegal immigration and elitist politicians ignoring the will of the American people for their own special interests. The voters of Herndon, Virginia sent a clear message to their city officials: ‘You’re fired.’”

###

A very interesting article out today on illegal immigration and the effects of illegal aliens on our economy.

From Newsweek via the MSNBC website:

‘Zero Impact’

An economist talks about the economics of illegal immigration—and why we may be overestimating the significance of undocumented workers.

By Jessica Bennett
Newsweek

They marched in big cities and small towns. They boycotted work and businesses, and withdrew their children from school. Some walked out of their jobs. And as hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants took to the streets yesterday, they hoped for a dramatic impact: to prove to America that their work was significant to the successful function of the U.S. economy.

In certain industries, they made their case. In the West and Midwest, a number of meatpacking companies were forced to close. In California and Arizona, produce fields were absent of migrant pickers. And in Los Angeles, Chicago and New York, a number of businesses lacked sufficient staff to operate.

But the protests didn’t bring the economy to a halt, as some organizers had hoped. And that, says one economist, is because Americans overestimate the actual impact undocumented workers have on our economy. “It’s a positive benefit, but it’s not the be-all end-all of the economy,” says James P. Smith, an economist at the Rand Corporation who specializes in mmigration labor. He spoke with NEWSWEEK’s Jessica Bennett about the relationship between the U.S. economy and the nation’s 11 million undocumented workers.

~SNIP~

To read the entire article, click on the title link!

George Taplin and the Virginia chapter of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps have been battling the day labor site in Herndon, Virginia, for months. Not only is it against federal law to hire illegally, but it is explicitly against Virginia state law.

Given all of that, the City of Herndon, Virginia, decided to use taxpayer funds for a day labor site. All three of the offenders up for re-election yesterday were VOTED OUT OF OFFICE! Politicians across the country: TAKE NOTE!

The Washington ComPost, given its USUAL penchant for distorting the facts, reports that the Minutemen are an "outside group." Hardly. The Minuteman Civil Defense Corps Virginia chapter was BORN in Herndon, Virginia by RESIDENTS of Herndon, Virginia.

From today''s Washington Post:

Labor Site Backlash Felt at Polls In Herndon

Three Who Supported Immigrant Center Ousted

Herndon voters yesterday unseated the mayor and two Town Council members who supported a bitterly debated day-labor center for immigrant workers in a contest that emerged as a mini-referendum on the turbulent national issue of illegal immigration.

Residents replaced the incumbents with challengers who immediately called for significant changes at the center. Some want to bar public funds from being spent on the facility or restrict it to workers living in the country legally. Others want it moved to an industrial site away from the residential neighborhood where it is located.

The labor center forced the western Fairfax County town into the national spotlight last summer as the immigration debate grew deeply contentious. Even though fewer than 3,000 people voted yesterday, advocates on both sides of the issue looked at the Herndon election as a test of public sentiment. Outside groups such as the Minuteman Project, which opposes illegal immigration, intervened in the debate, and Judicial Watch, a conservative legal group, is suing the town over the establishment of the center.

The council voted 5 to 2 last August to establish the center, but yesterday''s vote created an apparent 6 to 1 majority in opposition.

~SNIP~

To read the entire article, click on the title link!

Protests in Tijuana block legal entry into the United States. Hmmm... Perhaps if we could convince the people of Mexico to protest at the borders throughout, they could block illegal entry into the United States and the international crime cartels would no longer be in operational control of the U.S.-Mexico border.

From the Associated Press via the KABC-TV, Los Angeles, website:

Tijuana Protest Closes Border Crossing

Tijuana police are monitoring but are not stopping activists from yelling at drivers not to go into the United States

U.S. authorities responded by closing the metal barriers in front of vehicle inspection lanes for "security purposes" about 1 p.m. at the San Ysidro Port of Entry, which links Tijuana with San Diego.
However, Angelica De Cima, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Customs Service, which runs the port, stressed that the port remained open to the few vehicles that were able to make it through the crowd.

"We are there to do our law enforcement mission but traffic is being interrupted by the crowd," De Cima said.

About 50 thousand vehicles pass through the San Ysidro port on a typical day, but protesters began waving flags and shouting slogans at passing cars in Tijuana Monday morning, forcing many drivers to turn back. Tijuana police reportedly arrested at least three people for hitting cars as drivers tried to cross the border.

Pedestrian traffic was being allowed through the port as normal, officials said.

Mexican police, wearing gray and black fatigues, formed a line across the freeway about 2 p.m. and attempted to clear a lane for vehicle traffic. About ten cars managed to squeak through before protesters rushed the lane, forcing several cars to turn around and drive off. Mexican police arrested one person at the scene.

Another group of marchers sat down on the roadway and formed a human blockade.

~SNIP~

To read the entire article, click on the title link!

As the left-wing media proclaims that the May Day pro-illegal marches were "peaceful" throughout, the big story is that they''ve managed to so far suppress reports of the outbreak of violence in California.

After hearing a report of violence and rock and bottle-throwing targeted at police officers on the Fox News Channel, and searching the web extensively, I''ve only been able to find ONE report of the riots in California.

From today''s North Country Times:

Thousands rally on ''Day Without Immigrants''

By: MARK WALKER - Staff Writer

NORTH COUNTY ---- Thousands of white-shirted immigration rights protesters took part in demonstrations from coastal to inland North County on Monday in a show of their social and economic clout.

The protests, part of what some organizers called "A Day Without Immigrants" and "The Great American Boycott," were peaceful during the day.

But as night fell, the protests grew more disruptive in parts of North County.

In Vista, an estimated 1,000 people crammed the streets late into the night, forcing law enforcement officers to shut down Santa Fe Avenue. Sheriff''s deputies requested backup from other law enforcement agencies around 8 p.m., when deputies reported people throwing bottles and other objects. Some protesters were seen jumping on cars and running through neighborhoods.

Officers from as far as Imperial Beach and Alpine responded to the call for backup, some screaming down Highway 78 toward Vista. By 11:30 p.m., a slow-moving, 35-car parade of officers ---- in addition to dozens on foot in riot gear --- was pushing through protesters on Santa Fe Avenue and telling people to go home or face arrest.

~SNIP~

To read the entire article, click on the title link!

There are plenty of jobs that Americans won''t do: FOR SLAVE WAGES.

This just up from Lou Dobbs at CNN:

Dobbs: Radical groups taking control of immigrant movement

By Lou Dobbs
CNN

NEW YORK (CNN) -- We all awoke to headlines in our nation''s most important newspapers reminding us that this is "A Day Without Immigrants." Not illegal immigrants, mind you, but immigrants.

~SNIP~

"The meat packers are confirming what we know," says University of Maryland economics professor Peter Morici, "and that is that this large group of illegal aliens in the United States is lowering the wage rate of semiskilled workers, people who are high school dropouts or high school graduates with minimal training."

In fact, a meat-packing job paid $19 an hour in 1980, but today that same job pays closer to $9 an hour, according to the Labor Department. That''s entirely consistent with what we''ve been reporting -- that illegal aliens depress wages for U.S. workers by as much as $200 billion a year in addition to placing a tremendous burden on hospitals, schools and other social services.

~SNIP~

To read the entire article, click on the title link!

This in from T.H. Frederiksen on another blog post:

I have just made a page of videos and pictures of the "Day without a Mexican" rally here in Tucson Arizona. I am not sure how to contact Connie the Media Gal here to forward it to her. Interviews with the Communist Party...oh yes, they were there, and the usual suspects.

web link:

http://radioborderland.com/rally.html

Best to everyone and there is a picture there of a big banner they made about the minutemen being porkey pig with Nazi symbols. It was pretty bad. I have a picture up on the page of it.

Enjoy and thanks, T.H.!

And this just in from William A. Mayer E&P PipeLineNews.org:

Hey there, great work by T. Frederiksen as usual.

We spent several hours at the San Francisco demonstration, thought you might like to check out what was going on there.

Best viewed with a high speed connection, lots of bandwidth to be consumed here

http://www.pipelinenews.org/index.cfm?page=maydayphoto%2Ehtm

This report is encouraging as this is the third big bust in the area. Women and children (male and female) are promised a better life in America, a job in a restaurant, or some other work that "Americans refuse to do"--and they are transported across the border, gang raped when they''re on this side of the border and forced into prostitution or pornography. Modern day sex-slavery in the United States of America. SECURE THE BORDERS NOW!

From the Associated Press via the Fox News Channel website:

Feds Bust 66 in Raids on Alleged Mexican Prostitution Ring

Monday, May 01, 2006

NEWARK, N.J. — Federal agents rounded up 66 people Monday in a series of raids described by officials as smashing a ring that smuggled Mexicans into the United States and may have forced women to work as prostitutes.

Officers with the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement raided 15 locations in New Jersey and New York early Monday after New Jersey State Police pulled over two vehicles containing at least 10 women who had been working in brothels in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, said Kyle Hutchins, special agent in charge of the bureau''s Newark office.

None of the alleged prostitution took place in New Jersey, authorities said. Rather, when their weekly or monthly shifts in Washington-area brothels were finished, the women would be driven to northern New Jersey and New York, Hutchins said.

Thirty-six women and 30 men were taken into custody, Hutchins said. Two were charged with illegal money transfer and the rest were being held on immigration charges alleging they were in this country illegally, he said.

It was at least the third major immigrant smuggling ring believed to be operating in New Jersey in recent years.

Authorities said prosecutions involving Russian strippers who were forced to work in go-go bars and young Honduran women forced to work as hostesses are ongoing in federal court.

Hutchins said authorities were trying to determine whether the latest suspected ring was connected to either of the previous cases.

Kudos to law enforcement. Keep it up!

The human tsumani continues at the border by those trying to get in under the wire for amnesty.

54 people in a van? A VAN? This news report does not say semi-tractor trailer or any such but a VAN.

From today''s San Diego Union-Tribune:

Van carrying 54 halted after border chase

SAN DIEGO – Authorities took 54 suspected illegal immigrants into custody early Monday morning after the driver of a van packed with passengers drove it over a spike strip and across the U.S.-Mexico border at San Ysidro, then headed north in the southbound lanes of Interstate 805.
The van, which was able to keep going after running over the spike strip because its tires were filled with silicone gel, struck a vehicle near the border crossing before its driver continued the wrong way on I-805 around 3 a.m., Border Patrol spokesman Michael Bermudez said.

After driving north in the southbound lanes for several miles, exiting and re-entering the freeway, the van''s driver began driving north in the northbound lanes of I-805 at the 47th Street ramp.

The van left the freeway at Imperial Avenue and was heading south on I-805 near 43rd Street when its right rear tire started to shred and the driver pulled over. After the driver stopped, the people in the van began to run away, Bermudez said.

Border Patrol agents found the driver in a nearby trash bin, while the passengers were detained near the vehicle, Bermudez said. He said the driver and the passengers were believed to be citizens of Mexico.

Bermudez said he did not know the make or model of the van.

More from NBC San Diego:

Van Full Of Immigrants Goes On Wild, Wrong Way Ride In San Diego

SAN DIEGO -- A van crammed with 54 illegal immigrants was detained Monday after the driver took them on a wild ride in the wrong direction on several freeways, ripping the van''s tires on spikes near the Mexican border.

The blue Ford XLT 350 drove north over spikes in the southbound lanes of Interstate 5 at the San Ysidro Port of Entry shortly after 3 a.m., according to the U.S. Border Patrol.

The van, which was believed to have silicon in its tires to prevent the tires from leaking, continued to travel north in the southbound lanes of Interstate 805 before exiting at the Palm Avenue on ramp, U.S. Border Patrol Agent Damon Foreman said.

A shredded tire eventually ended the ride and the driver pulled over on the freeway near the 43rd Street exit in San Diego. The driver and 53 passengers ran away. Agents apprehended 54 Mexican nationals, including the driver, who was found hiding in a trash bin near 43rd Street, Foreman said.

During the wild ride, the van looped back onto I-805 traveling north in the correct lanes then exited onto Plaza Boulevard in National City. The driver got back onto the I-805 freeway using an offramp and once again sped away in the wrong direction until the van''s tires began to shred, Foreman said.

A few vehicles were clipped during the incident, but no injuries were reported, Foreman added.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

MINUTEMEN WRAP UP APRIL ‘SECURE OUR BORDER’ OPERATIONS

Sightings of Illegal Border Crossings Increase Drastically

(PHOENIX, AZ) May 1, 2006 – As the April, 2006, “Operation Secure Our Borders” around-the-clock operations come to a close, Chris Simcox, President of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps (“MCDC”), released the numbers of sightings of illegal aliens during the effort. A comparison is provided to operations last October, another annual high-traffic month due to milder, post-summer desert weather conditions.

April 2006
MCDC Sightings/BP Apprehensions*

Arizona 1,502/520
California 482/*
New Mexico 520/461
Texas 1,284/*
Washington State 2/2

October 2005
MCDC Sightings/BP Apprehensions*

Arizona 772/239
California 22/6
New Mexico 169/104
Texas 800/*
Washington State 0/0

*Border Patrol apprehension numbers provided where supplied to Minuteman Civil Defense

Chris Simcox released the following statement regarding the sharp rise in numbers of sightings in all areas:

"The Minuteman Civil Defense Corps once again stood vigilant as the number of people illegally crossing the border increased along every single sector where Minutemen were monitoring and reporting to Border Patrol. Each year, April and October are high-traffic months for illegal border crossings due to milder weather conditions in the desert areas, which is the reason the Minutemen choose these two months each year for our 24/7 ‘Secure Our Borders’ operations. The numbers are up drastically in April of this year over October of last year. Do not be fooled by the misleading statements of the Border Patrol ‘public information’ spokesmen. The false promise of amnesty by irresponsible politicians is causing a human tsunami over our borders by those attempting to get in under the wire, and gain U.S. citizenship by breaking current U.S. law.

“Minutemen during April 2006 ‘Secure Our Borders’ operations provided hundreds of gallons of water to those in distress in the desert and made over a dozen confirmed, life-saving rescues, including a 2-year-old boy in Arizona, by providing water and food to those abandoned by their ‘coyote’ traffickers or those who lost their way trying to cross the vast frontier and illegally enter this country.”

###

When you receive solicitations from political parties and candidates who support illegal immigration, may we suggest that you cut and paste the .jpg file into your favorite word processing program, resize it to the size of money, print it out and mail it in. Some of us write on back, "Fake pesos to you, real American dollars to the Minutemen. NO AMNESTY"

You can also take advantage and mail copies to your senators and congressmen, even putting this image into your email. We got it in an email!

Jerry Seper, investigative reporter for the Washington Times, was down in Three Points, AZ, for the wrap-up of the MCDC April 24/7 operations on Sunday. His report follows.

THANK YOU to all of the Minuteman volunteers who gave of their time, paid their own way and stood vigil at the border twenty-four hours a day for the month of April. A press release will go out today on the final numbers sighted and reported to the Border Patrol by Minutemen. In some areas the traffic increased over ELEVEN TIMES from the last 24/7 operations in 2005, in the historically high-traffic period of October.

The Border Patrol BUREAUCRATS are trying to tell the press and the American people that April is a high-traffic month to account for the nationwide surge in numbers--but October is ALSO a historically high traffic period, after the summer heat lets up, which allows for easier passage across the scorching desert. April 2006 numbers released today will compare to the same areas covered in the historically high-traffic period of October 2005 in the same locations.

It is the false promise of AMNESTY that has Spanish language radio stations, the Mexican government and pro-illegal organizers encouraging the illegal aliens to cross the border in droves.

Preparations are underway for the Memorial Day weekend groundbreaking for the first of what will be many fencing operations along the border with Mexico.

You can volunteer to help build the fence here:

VOLUNTEER TO HELP THE MINUTEMEN BUILD THE FENCE

You can donate to help build the fence here:

DONATE TO HELP THE MINUTEMEN BUILD THE FENCE

From today''s Washington Times:

Monthlong border vigil wraps up
By Jerry Seper
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
May 1, 2006

THREE POINTS, Ariz. -- They were better organized this year and more strategically deployed. Much of the electronic and communications equipment they desperately needed but didn''t have last year was in place.

And in the past 30 days, the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps reported more than 2,000 aliens trying to sneak illegally into the United States from observation posts on the U.S.-Mexico border and in several areas along the Canadian border, about 40 percent of whom were apprehended by the U.S. Border Patrol.

~SNIP~

"But the people who matter, the illegal aliens and those who bring them across the border who have had to change their tactics because of us, know we''re out here, and that''s what''s important," said Bill Foust, one of the Minuteman''s security bosses at the organization''s remote desert base camp 15 miles south of here.

"And the Border Patrol field agents know we''re here, and many of them have gone out of their way to thank us for bringing needed attention to the problem of illegal immigration," said Mr. Foust, an Arizona resident and a veteran of three 30-day patrols in the past year. "It is us who should be thanking them for what they do every day for America despite often being outmanned and outgunned."

~SNIP~

To read the entire article, click on the title link!

They are really stepping up to the plate for all American citizens:

U.S. BORDER PATROL
LOCAL 2544
TUCSON, ARIZONA

Welcome. Local 2544 officers are all Border Patrol agents. We represent other Border Patrol agents and non-supervisory employees in the Tucson Sector of the U.S. Border Patrol, covering most of the State of Arizona. We are the largest Local in the Border Patrol.

May 1st - Local 2544 will be making purchases of computers and other expensive items we normally would purchase at some point anyway - on May 1st. We wish all the illegal aliens would take their May 1st "protest" a step further, and completely remove themselves from the country. This would really demonstrate how upset they are at being treated like common lawbreakers. It has to be terrible to be a lawbreaker, and then be called a "lawbreaker", or even worse, to actually be held accountable for breaking "laws". Ouch! Afterwards, we could put all the unemployed Americans back to work, force employers to pay a fair wage, and see if the country really falls apart as the radical illegal immigration activists would have everyone believe. We say CALL THEIR BLUFF.

ATTENTION EMPLOYERS: HIRE U.S. CITIZENS AND LEGAL IMMIGRANTS! SAY NO TO CHEAP ILLEGAL ALIEN LABOR. IT''S AGAINST THE LAW, IT''S UNETHICAL, AND IT''S BAD FOR THIS COUNTRY.

SAY NO TO AMNESTY. PRESIDENT BUSH AND MANY POLITICIANS ARE TRYING TO SELL LEGALIZATION AND CITIZENSHIP TO 12 TO 15 MILLION LAWBREAKERS. DON''T BUY THEIR PROPAGANDA. IT''S NOT A "GUEST WORKER" PROGRAM, IT''S AN AMNESTY PROGRAM, IT''S COMPLETELY UNENFORCEABLE, AND IT''S DEAD WRONG. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEND THEM A MESSAGE.

THANK YOU FROM THE UNITED STATES BORDER PATROL AGENTS TRYING OUR BEST TO POLICE THE BORDER IN ARIZONA WHILE PRESIDENT BUSH, SENATOR McCAIN, "CONGRESSMAN" GRIJALVA AND OTHERS SELL US OUT EVERY DAY.

A big Minuteman THANK YOU to the U.S. Border Patrol agents and the Local 2544 in Tucson. God Bless America!

Fox News reports on the California Minuteman Civil Defense Corps efforts yesterday to repair a fence in the San Diego area that our government has left in disrepair for YEARS, as well as extend current fencing on government land. The CA MCDC had around 200 folks show up to help with fence repair and extension in areas where illegals and drug traffickers have torn down the American people''s fencing.

From the Fox News website:

BOULEVARD, Calif. — As immigrants and their supporters prepared for a massive boycott on Monday, opponents of illegal immigration went to work building a border fence meant to symbolize their support of a secure border.

About 200 volunteers organized by the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps of California began building a 6-foot barbed wire fence Saturday along a quarter-mile stretch of rugged terrain in Boulevard, about 50 miles east of San Diego.

Tim Donnelly, the group''s leader, said volunteers ate apple pie and hot dogs as they worked on the fence, which was connected to an existing 12-foot-high fence previously built by the federal government.

The volunteers wanted to send a message to Congress that the government should block entry to the United States and not grant amnesty to illegal immigrants, Donnelly said.

Thousands of immigrants and their supporters are expected to boycott work and schools Monday to raise awareness of their contributions to society.

"This was largely sent as a message to Congress so they''ll see on May 1, there are jobs that even illegal immigrants don''t want to do, but Americans are more than willing to do them," Donnelly said, referring to the fence-building.

~SNIP~

To read the entire article, click on the title link!

Very interesting commentary written by Jim Kouri, Fifth Vice President of the National Association of Chiefs of Police, as Arizona Border Patrol Agents Local 2544 makes quite a statement regarding tomorrow''s anti-America boycott:

Border Agents to Americans: "You Have Been Invaded"
by Jim Kouri
Apr 30, 2006

On May 1, the U.S. Border Patrol Agents Local 2544 will be doing their part to offset any adverse impact on the American economy as a result of the upcoming illegal aliens'' boycott. Local 2544, which represents Border Patrol agents in Arizona, vows to make big-ticket item purchases of computers and other expensive items on May 1.

"We wish all the illegal aliens would take their May 1 ''protest'' a step further, and completely remove themselves from the country," say local officials.

"You have been invaded, America. There are reportedly 20 million illegal aliens in this country now, and the number could be much higher."

Border patrol agents state plainly that these people are not supposed to be here and nobody knows who they are.

"Our president, George W. Bush, is doing nothing more than winking at them and promising them a huge amnesty program," Local 2544 officials said.

Meanwhile, two border-state governors have recently declared their borders "disaster areas" because many of the people running the federal government sit on their hands, frozen in fear, and refuse to address this problem in any meaningful way. 40% of the people still in Mexico say they want to come here.

"We try every day to stem this massive wave of illegal immigration, but we are overwhelmed, ill-equipped, underfunded, and sold out by politicians. We lost this battle years ago," officials said in a press release.

Border patrol agents have attempted to get their message out to the American people, but the monolithic news media ignore what they have to say about the illegal immigration issue.

"Thousands more illegal aliens make it into [the United States] every day. We simply cannot stop them. We don''t even have a reliable two-way communications system in the border patrol. Many times, if an agent gets caught up in a bad situation in a remote area, he or she is on their own," claim members of Local 2544.

~SNIP~

To read the entire article, click on the title link.